The present application relates generally to scrubbing devices. More particularly, it relates to an improved hand-held powered scrubbing device for cleaning and scrubbing bathroom areas and other locations.
The invention is particularly suited for use in cleaning and/or scrubbing bathroom floors, corners, bathroom tile, tubs, faucets, and crevices as well as scouring shower doors and walls. However, it should be appreciated that the device could also be used in many other applications, such as cleaning and scrubbing kitchen or laundry areas or other household or institutional locations, such as restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals, college dorms, hotels and the like.
Dampness of household surfaces is a well-known problem with areas adjacent to indoor plumbing. For example, shower stalls, bathtubs and adjacent tile and similar splash surfaces are particularly susceptible to the rapid growth of mold and mildew as well as build-ups of surface scum caused by soap residue, dirt and the like.
Over the years manually employed bristle brushes, used with bleach cleansers, were found to be the most expedient means for cleaning surfaces of the type enumerated. In recent times, attempts have been made to mechanize this type of cleaning project. However, the known devices were invariably heavy, bulky mechanisms which were difficult to work with and could be extremely dangerous when working around water or damp surfaces due to electrical shock. Also, many devices were not able to reach hard to clean areas, such as crevices behind faucets or toilets.
Numerous scrubbing devices have been developed for use in cleaning, scrubbing and for other applications. One known portable cleaning device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,588. This device is a portable rechargeable battery operated hand-held cleaning device which is adapted to receive various cleaning implements, such as wire brushes and abrasive wheels. The device has dual internally housed transverse cleaning implement receiving tongues, each having a reciprocal motion limited to 180 degrees. A disadvantage of this device is that the cleaning implements are not able to rotate 360 degrees nor can they swivel with respect to a longitudinal axis of the device. Another disadvantage is that the device does not have a handle which can be rotated and locked into either a pistol position or a wand position, as may be desired.
Another known scrubbing device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,587. This device has a hand-held scrubber which is attached to a wall-mounted motor through a drive cable. This device has the same shortcomings as the previously discussed device. Namely, the scrubber rotates but is not able to swivel. Also, there is no handle section which can be moved between a pistol position and a wand position. In addition, another disadvantage of this device is that the scrubber is connected to a wall mounted motor via a drive cable, thus limiting the range of use and travel of the scrubber.
Still another known brushing device, which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,053, is a hand-held brushing device used to polish and buff shoes. This device has the same shortcomings as the devices discussed above. In addition, another disadvantage of this device is that it needs an electric cord, not batteries for supplying power to the motor. Also, this device does not allow the attachment of various cleaning implements.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,102 discloses a portable hand-held cleaning apparatus which is adapted to receive various cleaning implements, such as bristle brushes, chisels, wheels, etc. One disadvantage of this device is that its handle is not able to rotate interchangeably between a pistol position and a wand position. Another disadvantage of this device is that it does not have a splash guard or other means of protecting against water damaging the device.
Yet another hand-held scrubber is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,632. This hand-held scrubber has a pair of rotary hubs which rotate along the longitudinal axis. One disadvantage of this device is that the cleaning heads are not able to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the device or swivel about the longitudinal axis. Another disadvantage of this device is that it does not have a splash guard or other means of protecting against water damaging the device.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved hand-held scrubbing device which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.